CDC Again Sends Team To Texas To Assess Growing Measles Outbreak
The three staff members are in the Lone Star State at the request of the governor. Meanwhile, public health experts weigh in on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s mixed messaging about the MMR vaccine after the HHS secretary touted treatments that have not been proved to be effective.
CBS News:
CDC Redeploys To Texas Measles Outbreak After Layoffs, As RFK Jr. Calls Vaccine "Most Effective Way" To Stop Spread
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun redeploying staff to respond to the deadly outbreak of measles in Texas, a spokesperson said Monday, a week after steep layoffs at the agency impacted its response to the spread of the virus. "A team of three deployed yesterday to meet with county and state officials to assess the immediate needs to respond to this outbreak. The team is meeting with officials again today," CDC spokesperson Jason McDonald said in an email. (Tin, 4/7)
Bloomberg:
Measles Outbreak: Health Officials Alarmed RFK Jr. Sowing Confusion On Vaccine
Health officials across the US are increasingly concerned that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., head of the federal health department, is sowing confusion about the effectiveness of the measles vaccine amid an outbreak that has left two unvaccinated children in Texas dead. On Sunday, in a post on X disclosing the latest death, Kennedy wrote that “the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine,” marking his clearest endorsement of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to date. (Garde, 4/7)
The Washington Post:
Trump Has Faced Measles Before. The Difference This Time Is RFK Jr.
Six years ago, as measles outbreaks cropped up across the country, President Donald Trump was asked what parents should do. “They have to get the shots,” he said. “The vaccinations are so important.” On Sunday, Trump was asked about the growing measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico. “It’s so far a fairly small number of people,” he said, though the outbreaks were similar in size at the time of both interviews. “This is not something new.” (Weber, Sun, Nirappil and Roubein, 4/8)
CNN:
Response To Multistate Measles Outbreak Hampered By Unique Set Of Challenges
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on the ground in Texas for the second time this year, as an ongoing multistate measles outbreak centered in the western part of the state has grown to one of the worst the United States has seen in decades. (McPhillips, Mukherjee and Tirrell, 4/7)
CBS News:
Child Under 1 Years Old In Denver Contracted Measles After Recent Mexico Visit, Colorado Department Says
A child under 1 years old living in Denver has become the second confirmed measles case in the state in 2025, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment confirmed on its website Monday. According to CDPHE, the baby is unvaccinated and had recently traveled with family to an area of Chihuahua, Mexico, where there has been an ongoing measles outbreak. The department says the child was too young to be vaccinated; babies normally receive the vaccine for measles between 12 and 15 months old. (Lowenstein, 4/7)
Newsweek:
New York State Issues Travel Advisory For 11 Countries
New York State Department of Health officials are cautioning residents to be vaccinated when traveling domestically and abroad to avoid contracting the measles amid an uptick in national cases. Measles cases across the United States by March 26 had already eclipsed the total number of viruses contracted from the disease the entire 2024 calendar year, according to New York state health officials. (Mordowanec, 4/7)
In news about vaccines —
The Hill:
Former Top Vaccine Regulator Says He Blocked RFK Jr. Team From Database
A former top official at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said he blocked members of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s team from directly accessing a vaccine database over concerns they would rewrite or erase the stored information. Peter Marks, who headed the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research before being ousted in March, told The Associated Press in an interview published Monday that he agreed to allow Kennedy’s associates to read reports from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) but refused to allow them to directly edit the information. (Choi, 4/7)
AP:
Army Reenlists Nearly Two Dozen Soldiers Ousted For Refusing COVID-19 Vaccine
The Army has reenlisted more than 23 soldiers who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, officials said Monday, rushing to implement President Donald Trump’s order that troops be rehired and given back pay. Three people rejoined active duty Army service, and more than 20 came back either to the National Guard or the Reserve, the Army said. The soldiers have signed their contracts and were sworn in, and the active duty troops were reporting to their units, the Army said. (Baldor, 4/7)
